Touch My Soul....
by bubbly
Summary: At the height of a brilliant singing career Matt disappears. Seven years later he steps out of the rain of a dark night to be a crashmat for a crying Jun. Angsty, oh yes. Little bits o' ::hopeful:: humour. Jumato, Taiora, Jyoumi, Mishiro.
1. ...1

Well. This is my first digimon fic! I started writing this before I heard about [and got sick from] the whole Matt/Sora thing, otherwise I probably wouldn't have written this. I did however hear about it before starting the second chapter and kinda worked it into the story. I haven't seen any of the episodes after the one right before that episode where Iori has that confrontation with BlackWarGreymon. I guess I just didn't like where the show was going. I did hear about what became of their futures [someone please direct me to a toilet bowl I'm feeling nauseous again!]. So will everyone please forgive me if what I writes not in keeping with the show?? Pretty please with an armadillo in a dress on top????

I put uploaded this on a whim I guess and probably won't be writing any more unless presented with a Mikael [from Angel Sanctuary] in silk boxers and a big, black bow or else I get some major inspiration ::smiled evilly:: and I leave you with a nice little cliffhanger there at the end. Heh heh heh.

Mikael's Hot Tootsies, was that a long note or what! Hope your not all asleep ::see my cheeky grin::........cheeky grin.........::shudders::

Disclaimer: SUE ME!! SUE ME!! I dare ya!! C'mooooon! ::pokes the bear:: c'mon!

Oh! The bit of song right there, you see it? there! just below the title!, is from What I See by Serial Joe. Go listen to it. 

Touch My Soul.....

__

"I can hear you cry

I can feel you sigh

Touch my soul today

And kiss the pain good-bye"

A figure walked down the fog-shrouded street. Darkness encased his form as if in answer to his mood. The pale glow from the streetlights seemed to be caught within his eyes, making them appear to be a glowing liquid pool of blue mist. His hair gleamed like dark gold, only slightly limp even in the pouring rain.

At the other end of the street, hidden by the mist, ran a girl. She was completely drenched. Her tube top and thin Capri's, as well as her auburn hair, were completely glued to her form. Silent, sparkling tears glittered, struck by the light as they hovered in the air behind her before falling in grace.

Her eyes tightly closed she was unaware of the impending collision until she broke from the heavy fog and ran straight into something. She bounced off and would have fallen had arms not enfolded her and brought her up to lean against the solid warmth of a man's hard chest.

She blinked and the tears stopped their flow as she felt heavy folds of leather warm from this man's body wrap around her and a voice she knew too well, a voice that had haunted her dreams for years, floated down to her from somewhere above her head.

"It's all right. Don't cry, sweet."

The voice was huskier, deeper. She could feel the slight rumbling from his chest as he spoke. She looked up into the stubbled face she had not seen for so long, one that had left her adift in ignorance for seven years, the face of her first love. His eyes were misty with concern and she could feel his heart beating under her palm. The solid thumping seemed to drain the tension from her body and she melted against him as her eyes drank in the sight of him, memorizing his every feature so she would not forget this moment for eternity.

"Matt."

The whispered name trembled in the air and then drifted in the stillness about them. She saw his eyes widen with surprise and he stared closely at her. She held her breath. Would he remember her? She was certain she had been nothing to him but another one of those screaming girls that seemed to find him wherever he went, she could only hope that she'd had more meaning in his life than that. She held her breath as she waited for his next words. The moment seemed to stretch on as his brows frowned slightly, and then-

"Jun?"

A slight smile widened her lips and her wine-coloured eyes sparkled.

"You remember me."

"Of course I remember you, but what are you doing running around outside without even a coat on? Never mind. Where do you live? I'll take you home so you can get warm and dry."

At his words she remembered what had driven her out into the dark night in the first place and tears flooded down her face once again.

"No! Matt, you can't take me back there! I won't go! I can't...I just can't see him yet. Not yet, not after what happened."

"All right, don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

At that, he let her go just long enough to wrap his long, black trench coat around her form and sweep her up into his arms as if he sensed how unsteady her feet were. She didn't so much as feel a jostle or a bounce as he swiftly headed down the street, getting rapidly soaked by the rain. She stared up into his face, not being able to help herself.

They soon reached a door on the fifth floor of an apartment complex. Matt reached inside a pocket of the trench coat for a key and then headed into the black space it revealed. He switched on a light when he closed the door behind him to reveal a large, shadowed room with a kitchenette area consisting of a counter, an old-fashioned stove, a sink, and a fridge to the right. The living room area had a couch and a small TV on a stand with a low table between the two in the centre. To the left were two doors.

Matt put her down on the couch and headed to the door on the left. She gave a little gasp because only now did she notice that he wore very dark green army pants above huge black leather boots laced up almost to his knees and a forest green t-shirt with silver dog-tags clinking against his chest. All this time he'd been in the army? Her mind raced with thoughts of what this meant and came to a complete blank.

He stopped in front of the wall beside the door to fiddle with something on the wall for a moment before going through the door, calling over his shoulder, "It should get warmer in here in a few minutes.'

He came back out a minute later holding something in his hand and headed into the other door. She heard a shower being turned on and then the tinkle of metal on metal and then the loud smack of something wet and heavy hitting something. A second later he came back out rubbing a towel on his wetly gleaming chest as the dog tags tinkled with the movements.

She couldn't help staring at what the t-shirt had revealed. His lean form was completely filled with long, lithe muscles. Her eyes glided along his collarbones, his chest, and his abs, halting at the waistband to his pants. Her eyes widened in concern as she stared for a minute at the long, thick scar starting just underneath his collar bone, crossing the left part of his chest, widening where his heart was, and teetering off in the ribs on his right.

She saw a strange blue tattoo on his right shoulder. It was a circle with a waved line going through it vertically and two, slightly less thick, waved lines coming out a either side. She wondered what it meant, she knew she'd seen it before somewhere in her brother's room when they were younger.

He dropped the towel beside her on the couch and sat down on the table in front of her. Taking her foot in his hand and resting it on his hard thigh, he unlaced the strappy platform sandal and put it down on the floor, leaving her foot on his leg. She stared at the top of his golden, shining head, wanting to reach out and run her hand through it, but clutched harder at the coat instead. He did the same with her other shoe, leaving little tingles of sensation wherever his hands touched her cold skin.

Then he picked her up out of the soaked coat, not letting her feet touch the cold, wooden floor and walked into the room on the left, settling her down on a mat. 

"You can wash up and get changed in here, I started up the shower for you, and I'll go see if I can find anything to eat."

She stared at him as he turned, wondering why he was doing all this for her when he didn't have to. When his back was turned fully to her, her breath drew in in surprise. Stretching along his upper back there was a large black tattoo of a wolf howling against the backdrop of a full moon. It seemed to be almost alive and looked so brutal she was almost scared. The muscles of his back bunched and flexed as he walked out the door, making the wolf appear all the more real and frightening, and closed it behind him.

She stared at the closed door wondering once again why he was being so caring to her. He disappeared for seven years and then suddenly reappeared at her lowest moment to take care of her when he could have just pushed out of his way and kept on walking. And before he had gone he hadn't exactly been too thrilled every time he saw her.

She looked around the tiny room seeing a sink with a mirror to her left, a shower to the right, and Matt's crumpled up shirt in a bin with other dirty clothing. She turned around and saw a toilet on the far wall with a fluffy blue towel and some clothes on the lowered seat cover.

She shimmied out of her wet clothing and threw them on top of Matt's then stepped into the steaming shower, letting her concerns and questions drain away as she delighted in the warm water striking her cold skin. As the water relaxed her, she decided to let whatever happened happen and enjoy being around Matt for however long she could.

She toweled dry when she stepped out and then wrapped the towel around herself. She opened up the mirror and found a comb, a bottle of Tylenol, shaving cream, a bag of disposable razors (unopened), and some aftershave. She picked up the blue-tinted bottle and smelled it not being able to stop herself. Her nostrils filled with the cool, fresh odor. It almost smelled like Matt. She wondered what the other smell had been that mingled with the aftershave then realized it had been the scent of his wet skin.

She felt a little shiver go down her spine and put away the aftershave and picked up the comb instead. She combed her now long hair and watched it turn into waves going down to the small of her back as it dried. The long wisps of her bangs hung in her eyes until they dried to graze her eyebrows. She put back the comb and turned to survey the clothes on the toilet. They were exactly like Matt's. She put on the t-shirt and it went all the way down to the middle of her thighs. The pants she tried on, but they were just too big, slipping to her ankles after she buttoned them up.

"Ah well, the shirt covers me up well enough."

She folded the pants and towel back up onto the toilet seat cover and opened the door. Matt was carrying two bowls of something steaming. He was looking down at them, but looked up when she opened the door.

"Sorry, but all I had in this place to eat was this ins...tant......soup."

He went perfectly still and his eyes trailed over her from the top of her head to her toes, still pink from the steamy shower. 

She waited for him to say something. Slowly the tension in the air got thicker until she felt the need to force something out of her mouth. Anything to break the heavy silence weighing them down.

"The pants were too big." Her voice was strangled and caught in her throat a little.

Her words seemed to snap him from his seeming daze and he cleared his throat. She had to hold back her giggle as she saw a faint pink tinge spread upon his cheeks. "Yeah, of course. Ah, I'm sorry that I didn't...uh...have anything warmer for you to wear."

"That's all right. It's pretty warm in here now."

His eyes darted to her legs again and the pink turned red.

"Right."

He cleared his throat again and walked over to the table and set the bowls on it. She walked over to him, noticing along the way that his and her shoes were beside the door along with the trench coat that was hanging on a hook. _He's neat_. Then she mentally slapped herself. _What do you expect? He's been in the army._ She sat down beside him, picked up her soup, and they ate in silence. When she was done he asked her if there was anyone she'd like to call.

"Not really. I don't exactly feel like seeing anyone I know right now. Except you, that is. Thanks so much for helping me, Matt. I probably would have ended up walking around the city all night in the rain in my tube top and Capri's and died of pneumonia."

"It's no problem. It's not like I have all that much company. What could have been bad enough to make you do that anyway?" He saw the tears welling in her eyes and said quickly, "You don't have to tell me! I don't even know why I asked, it's none of my business."

"It's okay. I'll probably feel better after having told someone anyway." She took a deep breath then waited for a moment, steeling herself. "I met this guy, you see, Keniko Metsumi, and we've been going out for a year. Last week we decided to move in together and today I came home to see him making out with......some..._girl_!" She sniffed as tears glided down her nose and cheeks again and Matt turned to draw her against his chest. "I don't even know why I'm crying. It's not like I loved him, I just-I just f-finally decided that if I can't have l-l-love at least I can have happiness and, you know, who knows, some day I might come to love the big, stupid toad. It-it just hurts 'cause I tried to love him, I tried, and he, he never cared for me at all."

Matt held her until the tears stopped coming and she quieted down and the pain stopped and finally, she rested. Then, he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. He put her down upon the hard bed and covered her with the blanket, then stood and looked upon her in the darkness of the room. She was so beautiful and looked so peaceful as she slept. He glided his hand along her cheek, knowing that she might wake and not being able to help himself.

Peace.

She was peace.

Matt groaned as he thrust himself away from her, grabbed a spare blanket and headed out the door, closing it gently behind him. He fell onto the couch, hoping that this night, at least, he'd be able to rest in Peace.


	2. ...2

Alrighty---here we go-chaaaaapter 2!!!!!! Step right up!

My heartfelt advice to all? [Not that you asked...] Do yourselves all a favour and steal, beg, borrow, or even ::gasp!:: buy the song Touched by Vast. OR BETTER YET!!!! Get to OtakuVengeance.com and dowload the Ruruoni Kenshin OVA music vid by Lord Rae made from it. Go do it now. Die from beauty.

Disclaimer: I've actually been poked and prodded [despite my vehement whining] into writing one of these. ::sigh:: I own nothing but a couple anime posters, manga, anime tapes, and this lovely computer which I sacrifice to nightly. Oh yes! And this plotline! And Mikael the Super-Bishie!!! [no I don't] Shut up you! Yes I do!

The song -in case you...I dunno...skip over some lines when reading- is Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison. If you didn't recognize it get out from under your rock and watch some '80's classics!

Two........

Jun yawned awake. Golden sunlight filtered down onto her from the two windows set in the wall at the head of the bed. She blinked, her eyes and mind still crowded with dreams of Matt, confused. Where in the world was she? The bed underneath her was hard instead of cushiony and the bed sheets were blue. On the right wall there was a door and on the left was a desk and a small cabinet. On the wall across from her there was another door and a shelf set into the wall.

Everything was different. The room was all wrong, her dreams of Matt had been especially vivid, and she was sleeping in a green t-shirt that was way too big and that........_had ridden up to her armpits_!!

She yanked it down as fast as was humanly possible and looked around in horror to see if Keniko was anywhere near.

Keniko.

Keniko?

She bit her lip to keep it from trembling as it all came flooding back. She'd come in late from work that day. She had stepped into the bedroom and seen something moving under the sheets. She stood frozen in the doorway until the sheets were thrown back and saw two figures cavorting naked on the bed. One was Keniko, the other was some black-haired tramp. Then, she remembered running through the streets and right into Matt. After all this time she had seen him. And he had been so kind to her, so very sweet.

__

"Don't cry, sweet."

She sighed. He'd called her sweet before he even knew who she was. She got up now, wondering where he'd slept since he'd obviously given her his bed. Probably on that couch. She sighed again. He'd held her on that couch until all her grief was gone and she'd fallen asleep to dream of him.

She opened the door to see Matt sitting on the couch in the exact same clothes as yesterday, at least she knew that he hadn't snuck into her room in the middle of the night to grab some clothing (for some strange reason that disappointed her). He was drinking coffee and she could see some still on the stove. He looked up at her and she noticed the stubble was gone this morning. The steam coming off the coffee seemed to be swirling in his eyes.

"I made coffee." He said, nodding towards the stove. "I don't have any milk or sugar, though, because I always have it black."

Jun made a face of disgust and gave a decisive no. She plopped down on the couch beside him and turned on the TV. On the screen she saw the morning news broadcast. Mimi Kido, the morning and evening anchorwoman was talking about a plane crash. Her pink hair was brought up in a twist to her crown and she wore a white blouse and deep purple blazer over her very large abdomen-

"'...everyone was fortunately rescued. The only casualties were some of the dry goods being transported on the plane. Back to you Hiroki.'

'And now our top story of the day, today is the third wedding anniversary of our top anchorwoman, Mimi Kido. [_the camera shows a shot of the surprised Mrs. Kido, and then back to the proudly boasting Hiroki_] As special consent to Mimi's great importance to us all and all her husband's insistent pleas she's getting the rest of the day off and is privileged to view this special production, which _I_, a-hem a-hem, helped to choreograph.'

[_the camera now zooms backward to show a million balloons saying "happy anniversary" on them and rose petals dropping all over the main stage. Then it goes to the opposite stage where a floor is moving outwards as Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman" starts playing and Jyou Kido is standing in a powder blue tux and a ruffled shirt in front of an orchestra. His arms and legs are spread wide and his head is thrown back as he starts singing_]

'Oooooooooohhhhh!!!!

Pretty woman

[_he looks over at the stunned Mimi_]

Walking down the street 

[_his head whips around to look at a blow-up woman with a picture of Mimi's face glued to the head and a pink wig, bouncing along the stage by a string_]

Pretty woman

I'd kinda like to meet

[_he leaps off the stage and goes to the dummy in great jumping strides_]

Pretty woman

I don't believe you

[_his hand goes to his heart_]

You're not the truth

[_his head whips back and forth_]

No one can look as good as yoooo-ooou

Merc-ay

__

[ he rips the top buttons in his shirt off as he grabs his collar and yanks it away from his throat as if he can't breath]

Pretty woman

[_his hand goes back on his heart followed by an extremely exaggerated look of concern upon his face_]

Won't you pardon me?

Pretty woman

I couldn't help but see

[_he leers at the dummy, looking it up and down_]

Pretty woman

Oh, you look lovely

As can be

Are you lone-lay [_his brows raise up and down suggestively] _just like me?

__

[he raises his teeth at one in an extremely wicked and slightly evil grin]

Rrrrrrrrrraarrrrrrrrrr

Pretty woman 

Stop a-while

[_the dummy stops bouncing_]

Pretty woman

Talk a-while

[_he squeezes the dummy's head so it looks like it's talking_]

Pretty woman

Give your smile to me

[_he rips off the lips of the picture on the dummy's head and stuffs it in his coat pocket after rubbing it on his heart_]

Pretty woman

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Pretty woman

Look my way

[_Jyou spreads his arms and legs wide and presses a button on his coat making millions of little flashing neon arrows on his tux pointing to his heart go on_] 

Pretty woman

Say you'll stay with meeeee

[_he goes down on his knees in front of the dummy and holds one arm out to it in entreaty_]

'Cause I need youuuuu

[_he grabs the dummy and starts dancing with it, grinding their hips together_]

Come with me bay-by

Be mine toniiiiiii_iiiiiiiiii_[_he whips the dummy away from him as he spread-eagles again and his mouth goes wide shouting towards the ceiling_] _IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

Pretty woman

[_he goes chasing after the dummy that's floating away_]

Don't walk away

Pretty woman

Don't make me cry

[_he hold a huge fake blue tear on a wire up to his face then a bucket of water drops on his head_]

Pretty woman

Don't walk away, hey

Okay

If that's the way it must be, okay

[_he looks extremely dejected_]

I guess I'll go home, it's late

[_he starts walking away_]

They'll be tomorrow night, but wait!

[_he looks up, looking excessively surprised_]

What do I see?

[_he starts walking towards Mimi with an extremely menacing and determined look on his face_]

Is she walking back to me?

[_Mimi, seeing this, gives a little yelp between her laughing spasms and attempts to run in the opposite direction_]

Yeah, she's walking back to meeeee

[_Jyou runs after her and easily catches up to her, picking her up in his arms despite her extremely large belly_]

OOOooooooooohhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Pretty woman!'

[_he lowers his head and starts kissing his wife. The music stops. The camera shows the gleefully grinning Hiroki once more_]

'In other news, it seems Izumi Electronics has just launched a five billion dollar deal with NASA. The young president is just out of university and has already made his first billion. Ha ha, I've heard he taught his teachers a few things. Ashitaka Muisato will be filling in for Mimi this evening-'"

Matt turned off the TV and stared at it for a few minutes.

"Wow. Jyou sure has changed, and Mimi looked so professional. I thought she was a model."

"From what I picked up from Daisuke she decided to give up modeling and acting when she got married so she wouldn't have to travel out of the city and could stay here to raise a family. That's their first kid she's going to have."

"What about Izzy? Since when does he own a software company?"

"Well, Izumi Electronics started up three years ago so I guess he started it when he was still in university. I'm pretty sure Jyou's some kind of doctor because Daisuke was making fun of him with Ken about wearing scrubs a while back."

"Ken? What happened to him? And TK and Tai and Daisuke and Hikari and Miyako and Iori and.....Sora?"

"Well, Daisuke's in the J-League and the rest of this is all just information I picked up off of him. Ken and Taichi are in the J-League with him. Takeru and Miyako go to college. Iori goes to high school and I think he teaches kendo classes on weekends because Daisuke is constantly whining about Iori not letting him join again after he broke the door eight times. Hikari's a photographer for National Geographic and Sora's a teacher in the local elementary school. I haven't seen Daisuke in a while though so things might have changed. We don't talk much now that we've both moved out."

Matt stared down at his coffee, a distant look on his face, and his voice sounded so quiet and sad once he finally spoke she could feel her soul trying to reach out and give comfort. "Everyone's changed. They've all gone on with their lives. I didn't expect everything to be the same when I got back, but I just feel sort of left behind in the dust." He let out a soft sigh. "I guess I should let them all know I'm not dead. Won't they be surprised to see me."

His voice was filled with something close to pain and she reached out a hand to try and comfort him, then sense got the better of her. He wouldn't accept comfort from her. She bit her lip but drew back the hand despite the squeezing of her heart. 

"I...um...I should go call my friends and see if any of them have any room for me. I can probably get my old apartment back, I doubt Minako and Yutaka already found another roommate."

He looked up at her, staring into her eyes for a second, then he looked back into his coffee. His hair fell into his eyes, leaving them in shadow.

"Sure thing. I'll call some place for take-out." Jun watched him walk over to his coat and take out a cell phone, her eyes full of all her long-suppressed emotions for a moment, then she stood and went over to the phone resting on the low fridge in the kitchen.

A half hour and many pleas later she came back to sit on the couch with Matt.

"Bad news. Everyone I know has already got roommates filled to the brim." She let out a gusty sigh. "You'd think in a city this big there would be a room somewhere for me." She groaned. "This means I'm going to have to beg Daisuke to let me crash with him until I can find an apartment. This is just great! The last time he did a favour for me was when he stopped decapitating my dolls in grade two."

Matt looked at her out of the corner of his eye from beneath his lowered head. "You could stay here for a while if you wanted to."

Jun jumped onto her knees on the couch, facing Matt with eyes sparkling with excitement. "Really? You'd let me stay with you? I'll sleep on the couch and keep real quiet, so don't worry, I won't be any bother. I'll cook you some decent food, too."

That's all right, you don't have to cook for me, and I'll be sleeping on the couch."

"What? No way! It's your apartment so you should get to sleep in your bed."

"Nope. You stay here, you sleep on the bed. Besides, you'll need more room to put all your stuff than I will, even when it all gets here."

Jun frowned at him then smiled widely. "Okay! But this the first time somebody's forcing me to take the bed while they sleep on the couch. And I am going to cook. I need food too, and it's easier to cook for two than for one. Besides, I want to cook for you." She gave him a little smile, then jumped off the couch, heading for the phone. "I'll call Yutaka and tell her to get her big brute of a boyfriend to bring all my stuff here. You've got to understand that I don't want to be within a five-mile radius of that jerk I actually lived with right now."

A minute later she ran back looking like the end of the world was near.

"Omigod, Matt, you have to help me! Oooooh, what in shit am I going to do? Akihito's going to _kill_ me!"

Matt stood up in alarm and grabbed her wildly flailing arms, holding them to her sides, as he leaned over to look directly into her face. "What is it Jun? It can't be that bad." At this she started to look rebellious. "And whatever it is I'm sure we can get through it." He paused a moment, hesistating, "Together."

She went still and smiled at him. "Thanks Matt." Jun looked into his deep blue eyes. "The problem is that I have to be at work in half an hour, Yutaka reminded me, and that wouldn't be all bad if I had no idea how to get there because I have no clue to where exactly we are, and, even though I have spare work clothes there, I still have to get there and my clothes are wet and I can't walk down the street in your t-shirt." She looked up at him expectantly.

"Okay, first, just tell me where it is and I can get you there, I still remember Odaiba, even after all this time. Second," he blushed, "you can wear one of my trunks as shorts." She gave a little smile. "Third, I have my car, so no one will see you, okay?" He gave her a winning smile as he turned and went into the bedroom. She bit her lip as a strange rush of feelings came over her. He was so very sweet to her, as if he cared for her, as if he wanted to be with her. _What's wrong with you? Knock some sense into yourself, you annoy him, remember??_ She sighed. Still.

He came back out of the bedroom holding a pair of black boxers. He was explaining something to her, looking adorably sheepish, but she couldn't hear him, too swept up in the feelings flooding through her. She nodded her head when his look turned questioning.

He came over to her and handed her his underwear then turned his back as she put them on.

~~~*~~~

"Thanks for bringing me here, Matt. Thanks for everything."

"So what time should I pick you up at?"

"You don't have to do that. You've done enough already and I promised I wouldn't be a bother."

"I don't have anything else to do and I really don't mind."

"Are you sure?"

"_Positive._"

She gave him bright smile. "All right then! Pick me up at six. See you, Matt."

She jumped out of the car and headed into the old building. She stopped when she heard a soft "Bye." carried to her on the wind. A slow smile crept onto her face and she turned and waved to him as he started the car and drove off.

"So, who's the hottie?"

"Bwa!" Jun jumped and whipped around to face Yutaka. "Don't scare me like that!"

"So who is he? Huh huh? C'mon, tell me!"

"He's Matt."

"Matt? Matt who?"

"Matt Ishida."

"Matt Ishida...Wait! Matt Ishida! As in Yamato Ishida! The rock legend that disappeared seven years ago and everybody presumed dead and who you've been in love with since...what...like twelve?"

"I have _not_!"

"Do not even try to lie to me. I've known you way too long."

"At least _I_ didn't kiss my posters of him every ten minutes."

"Suuure you didn't. Love the outfit, by the way. It just _screams_ of 'the morning after the big night'" Jun's mouth dropped open and her head went up in flames. "And aren't you just a bit perky for a girl who just found out her boyfriend was a lying, cheating snake instead of the human you originally assumed him to be?"

"Well, maybe I took stock of my life and realized it's better this way." She looked in the direction Matt had driven off while her best friend rolled her eyes behind her.

~~~*~~~

Matt pulled up to a stop in front of the building precisely at six and waited there for fifteen minutes before finally deciding to go in there and look for Jun. He wandered around the huge building for a while until he got directed to a door.

He opened it to reveal a glory of light. The ceiling of the huge room was made up entirely of windows. The soft light glittering through the glass fell upon Jun. She danced in the middle of the room, her shining visage reflected in the mirrored walls. She danced within the rays of light, and they enveloped her in shimmering gold as she glided like a swan to the music flowing in her mind.

"Nice dancing, don't you think?"

He didn't turn to the voice speaking behind him as his eyes were caught by the girl before him. "She looks like an angel."

He was entranced by the slow, sinuous movements of pure grace made by her body.

Peace.

Yes, the same peace was coming over him that had last night when he'd looked upon her face in serene sleep. She brought him serenity, she brought him peace, she gave him the one thing he craved. She was his peace.

When she stopped she was arched backward, the tips of her fingers trailing on the ground and one leg straight up in the air. Then she flowed to an upright position, facing him, and opened her eyes.

They looked dream hazed and soft and she didn't seem to realize he was there. The look upon her face was one of rapture. It looked as if she was in a world of her own and the sharpness of the pang of desire Matt felt to be in that world with her surprised him.

Finally, the mist faded from her eyes and she looked at him with surprise. "Matt! How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long. Your dancing...it was...beautiful."

She flushed with pleasure. "Thanks. I'm practicing for the ballet we're going to be putting on in a while. Sorry I kept you waiting."

"That's all right. I enjoyed it."

She smiled at him as she headed for a door hidden within the mirrored paneling. "I'll be out in a minute. I just need to get your clothes."

~~~*~~~

"Yutaka will be here soon with my stuff." Jun said as they walked through the door of Matt's apartment. "Meanwhile, I'm going to make us something to eat." She headed for the kitchen with the bags of food they had picked up on the way. "When was the last time you had a decent meal?"

"Depends on what you mean by decent."

"A nice square meal eaten among friends."

He looked over at her. "About seven years ago."

She blinked. "Wow. Then this will be a treat. Oh, there's the door. It's probably Yutaka and Mieru."

She went over and opened the door that was being loudly pounded on. The second she had it unlocked Daisuke came crashing through it, grabbed her by the shoulders, and started shaking her.

"Where the hell have you been? Mom called your apartment yesterday and you weren't there, then she called your old apartment and they said they hadn't seen you since yesterday, and Mom got worried and she's been bugging me all day long! Where's Jun? Go find Jun. Why haven't you found Jun yet? What am I anyway? Your keeper? Tell me where you've been so I can call Mom and get her off my case."

"How'd you find me anyway, Daisuke?"

"How do you think? I went to your new apartment and I found that friend of yours and her huge boyfriend packing up your stuff and I pried the information out of them. So what happened?"

Matt stood up straight at the sound of the familiar voice. He moved to the doorway of the bedroom where he'd gone at the sound of the door to make more room for Jun's things. He stood in the doorway and stared at the young man shaking Jun and shouting in her face. He was taller, the afro was smaller, and he had a little moustache, but it was definitely Daisuke. He hadn't counted on seeing another of the digi-destined so soon and a strange mix of emotions roiled within him.

He wondered then if Daisuke would recognize him. His hair was shorter, more like it had been when he was much younger, before Daisuke had met him, and when they had first traveled to the Digital World. He should recognize him, even if he'd exchanged his silver clamp earring for dog tags, he hadn't changed all that much.

"Daisuke?"

Daisuke turned his head and looked at him. At first a look of complete blankness crossed his face, then he screamed, completely terrified and blue in the face as he clawed at the door.

"A ghoooooooost!!!! J-Jun there's a ghost behind you!! It's Matt. He's come back from the grave to haunt us!!!! Run! Run for your life! Run-"

"Daisuke."

"Run! Run!"

"Daisuke-"

"Ruuuun!!!"

"Daisuke!! I'm not dead!"

Davis stopped clawing at the door and turned to look at Matt suspiciously.

"You're not, huh? Well, then! Where have you been all this time?"

"Around."

"Yeah! Around the valley of the dead! You're a ghost! Admit it and go cast your fiendish schemes somewhere else."

Jun sighed behind him. "Only you would try to convince someone that they're a ghost. Look at his clothes. He's been in the army. Besides, can't you go through a ghost?" She walked over to Matt and put her hand on his shoulder. "See. My hand doesn't go through."

Daisuke looked at her suspiciously then walked over to Matt, looking him up and down with his arms crossed, tapping one finger on his lip, an eyebrow arched.

"Hmmmmm....."

Matt sighed, his expression purely bland as Daisuke slowly, slowly brought his finger towards Matt's chest, and slowly extended his finger to poke him.

"You are alive."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Yes. Yes I am. But could you not tell the others? I'm not ready to see them yet. Do you understand?"

"No, but I won't tell them you're here. I think it's wrong that you're not telling them, though. Everyone was real upset when you left. And when we got that letter a while later, Sora was so upset that Tai wanted to kill you."

A look of pain crossed Matt's face. "Still, this is the right way of things and everybody knows it."

"Well, it's all too confusing for me, but what's Jun doing here?"

"Oh, Matt's letting me stay here until I can find an apartment of my own."

"Oh, okay. Call Mom and tell her that I found you. I am _not_ incompetent. Well, see ya."

"Bye." They watched him walk out the door. "Well, let's eat."

~~~*~~~

"Bye, Yutaka! Thanks for bringing over my stuff."

"No prob. See ya!"

Jun looked around the mess of boxes completely blanketing the living room.

"I never knew I had so much....stuff."

Matt looked at the pile and scratched the back of his head. "Uh.....you want to go for a walk."

"Sure!"

Matt grabbed his coat and they headed out the door.

"Don't you want to put on a coat?" He looked over at her red short shorts and white tank top with a heart right over where his cheeks heated to be caught looking. "You might get kind of...cold."

"Oh, Matt, you sound like my grandma. Come on!"

"But, it's just...it might rain." He called after her fast retreating form.

"I like rain!" She called over her shoulder as she started skipping down the steps.

Matt smacked his forehead and groaned as he locked the door. "Just great." He started down the stairs with visions of a rain-drenched Jun in a tank top and short shorts.

"Just great."

~~~*~~~

They were standing gazing out over the river when Matt put his hand on Jun's shoulder. Her thrill at this simple touch seemed uncanny to her and she leaned back to rest against him, her body relaxing at the contact with his even as little tingles ran down her spine.

Suddenly out of nowhere Matt bent and scooped her out from under her knees so that he held her in his arms.

"Oh, Matt. I didn't know you were so roman-Matt! Omigod, Matt, what do you think you're doing?!" She started screaming as he held her at arms length over the water. She looked up into his face, saw his wicked grin, and screamed even louder. "Maaaaatt! Don't drop me! Matt!!" She lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he chuckled into hers.

"You realize if you drop me then you'll go down too?"

He sighed, stirring the little hairs at the nape of her neck and making a shiver go down her spine. "I suppose so."

"So you won't drop me into the water?"

"I suppose so."

She frowned, that didn't exactly sound reassuring.

"Want to go for a run?"

"Uh-uh. My legs are still kinda shaky from being held ten metres above roiling water."

"Really?" She nodded against his chest. He took her arms off his neck and brought them forward so he could look down upon her face. He brought his face closer to her until he was all that filled her vision and his eyes turned soft. "Poor thing. How could I ever have done such a thing to you?" His voice was even lower and softer than usual and she could feel the sounds rumbling out from his chest against her side. Her eyes drifted shut and she brought her chin upward, not being able to do anything else with her mind completely scrambled from this assault on her senses.

He brought his face downward, towards her, until his lips just grazed her own. He said in a voice that sent a thrill through her. "That's too bad."

In the next second she felt her body swinging around onto his back and she held on for dear life as Matt raced off, his laughter floating on the air.

~~~*~~~

Jun looked up towards the leafy canopy above as they walked hand-in-hand in the silence of the still trees in the deserted park as dusk descended upon them.

Out of nowhere a droplet of wet landed on her nose. She blinked and this first drop was followed by a second and a third and they soon stood in the misty eye of a spring shower.

Jun looked up at the soft grey of the sky and saw no blue. There was probably going to be a storm. The rain gathered on her lashes and little drops of it pelted her skin until it suddenly ceased. She looked to the side and there was Matt's smiling face above her as he held the coat over the both of them.

"I told you there would be rain. Come on, isn't there a little gazebo somewhere around here that we can hide out in?"

"Yeah, it's really close by."

They raced among the dew-wet trees until they came upon the structure that looked as if it belonged in the realm of clouds. They stood under its white dome, looking out at the rain-hazy scenery of nature in spring glory.

She didn't know how long they stood there, just staring out at the trees. The silence between them seemed more comfortable and Jun was enjoying her herself way too much to do anything to break their stillness. A soft wind blew around them, turning her wet skin to a mass of goose bumps and making her shiver.

Matt came up behind Jun, she could feel the heat from his body as he came closer and it made her shiver all the more. He got closer and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist and, after a minute, leaned his face forward to rest against her cheek. She let out a soft sigh and rested her hands against his as her form melded to his. They stood, for hours it seemed, each revelling in the embrace, until Matt pulled backward.

Jun bit her lip in disappointment but then was turned around until she faced Matt, his arms still about her waist. He looked down upon her, his eyes as hazy as the sky above. She stared into those eyes, caught in his gaze, as he lifted his hand. Down her temple and across her cheekbones trailed his soft touch, then he brought it down to twine their fingers together and bring their clasped hands upward to rest against his heart.

Jun's body swayed toward him and her fingers came up to graze his bottom lip, his hard chin, and then sweep into the softness of his hair. Matt tightened his arm around her until their two bodies were melded together under the shadow of his trench coat.

Matt lowered his head and Jun stood upon her toes until their mouths met in breathless accord to kiss in the soft twilight of the first stars. 

Just before their lips came together she heard a little sigh come from Matt. A little sigh that sounded a lot like...."Peace."

Aren't they so sweet??? Before you gaggle at me - yes! there is a reason why things are suddenly moving so fast. How fast you ask? Read on! But perhaps you [smart-aleck] have already figured it out? Perhaps I have? Hmmmm......one does wonder.....


	3. ...3

Well, what is this? you may ask. By gum, it's the third chapter which I wrote about a year ago [or more...who knows...] before my muse went a-runnin'. My sudden desire to upload stuff last night left me before I got around to this here chapter, BUT!, lo and behold I got a review! [oh the astonishment, my heart, it can't stand this kind shock] and so I decided to up and load the this old thing against my better judgement [it embarrasses me by it's complete crudliness] at the kind request of my reviewer. By the by, is "originally interesting" a good thing or a bad thing??? ::the innocent eyes:: 

Before I leave you to read let me just tell all you little people out there the joys of wearing midnight blue nail polish with silver sparkles. Wonderspaculouso! Everyone thinks they're black unless I'm out in that [evil evil] sunlight and look at me strangely as if I'm about to sprout horns and run amok painting everything black and singing satan hymns. ::hear the evil cackle i say:: Oh, the joy of striking fear into my neighbours ::happy happy grin:: BTW- try some blackest red too. It looks just stunning on my toes, why yes it does.

Disclaimer: blah blah. I own a chimney, three orangutans in dresses, a pair of twin Oriental sex slaves in black leather boxers, an evil cat who enjoys clawing me to death, Mikael the lovely [hear my heart flutter], and five black furry elephants dancing naked on a park bench , but not Digimon ::cheery happy squishy voice:: Digital Monsters!

The song down there [which I feel like removing-it's soooo cheesy I know someone is sticking a cracker under it] is well...I dunno what it is cause it's the last song on the Sweet November soundtrack which seems to have found it's way off my cd stack. Damn little bugger. I'll write the name in when I find it. 

Three........

Jun's slowly awakening senses brought her information she didn't think to question in the irrational cloud between sleep and realization upon which she drifted.

First came the overwhelming feeling of happiness and comfort. Her very bones felt melted into the bed, she never wanted to move. Then came the feeling of something hard under her instead of the softness of the bed. With that came a flooding of fragrance to her nostrils. She breathed deeply of the scent, her nostrils practically twitching with delight. It reminded her of something, but her mind was too fazed with sleep to quite put her finger on it and, in the contentment in which she lay, she didn't care. 

She ran her spread hand along the hardness she was half lying on. She felt ridges. The strangeness of this intruded upon her mind and she burrowed her face into the hardness, trying to keep away from rational thought. She licked her lips and the tip of her tongue came in contact with the hardness. She felt a shiver run through it underneath her and her brow furrowed. How strange...she had tasted...saltines?...like skin...strange.

Jun cracked open one renegading eye. Soft light filled the room and for a lazy minute she watched the dust motes floating in the light. Then her eyes turned to what lay under her nose. Little ridges of flesh?...abs. These were definitely someone's, she tapped her finger on them, _very_ hard abs.

She tilted her head upward so her chin rested on the hardness, opening the other eye along the way. Her hazy eyes focused as a face came into view.

"Matt." Her whisper floated across his skin and he grinned down wickedly at her. 

"Hey there, sleepy head. You keep up as you have been and there will be consequences to your actions you know."

She blinked in puzzlement.

"Don't give me that innocent look. First you lie there, on my stomach, looking all cute and rumpled, then you go and run your hands along my body, then you wield that soft little tongue of yours on my weak self, and then, the final blow, you turn those gorgeous eyes in my direction. But I know your game, madam. You're trying to seduce me and I've already fallen under your sultry invasion. Do with me what you will...but please...be gentle."

She giggled and pushed herself up, the sheet fell about her waist as she crawled up until her face was right above his. "My, how easily the mighty fall."

"Is it my fault those doe eyes of yours fell me and turn me afire every time you point them my way?"

She shrieked as he grabbed her waist and flipped them over so that she was beneath him now.

"Let's see how long you can withstand _my_ onslaught."

She giggled and wound her arms around his neck as he gave a menacing chuckle while his mouth descended to play with her.

~~~*~~~

When they again lay still on the bed, their legs were entwined, Jun rested her head on Matt's chest with her hand on his stomach, and Matt had his hands crossed under his head.

"Do you want to go dancing?" He chuckled and she could feel it rumbling up from the outstretched torso beneath her. "That is, a different kind of dancing than we just did."

She smiled, looking up at him. "What do you have in mind?"

"There's this restaurant that I used to go to that has this live orchestra and they have dancing there while people eat. I'd like to take you there to celebrate the joining of two souls. I thought it might be nice."

"Oh Matt." She cried as tears pricked her eyes and she once again swept upward and clasped his face between her hands. "Are you the most perfect man in the world?" Then she leaned her head down to kiss him as her hair fell about them like a curtain.

~~~*~~~

That evening Jun heard a knock upon the door. Opening it, she found Matt in a black tuxedo. He was looking up at her from his downward tilted head, he had one arm bent behind his back and the other held a rose out to her.

"Good evening, my love."

Jun felt a fluttering in her heart like the wings of a million butterflies. He was absolutely gorgeous. His gaze rose from the tips of her toes and it slowly glided along her form, heating every inch of her skin his gaze touched, making it seem like tangible caresses. Finally his eyes stared into her own. The heat of his gaze set her entire body aflame and somehow it brought to her mind every touch of the night before.

His eyes once again dipped down to the low, soft folds of the hanging neckline of her deep crimson dress. It flowed close to her body and was held up by thin straps. He tore his gaze away from her cleavage and brought the rose towards her. She held it up to her face and inhaled deeply of the soft scent, her eyes closed and a soft smile tilting the corners of her mouth. Then she looked up at him, he had a hazed look on his face.

"Thank you, Matt."

Her words snapped him out of his seeming daze because he reached behind him to grab her coat and hold it out to her, then put his own on after she was done. He held out his arm to her and they walked out the door.

~~~*~~~

Matt and Jun danced slowly as the light glimmered on them in the darkened room from the reflecting ball above their heads. The soft, tinkling music played on though they hardly noticed it, each lost in the other's eyes. Matt's hands were twined around her waist and hers were softly cupping the nape of his neck.

The singer's soft, mellifluous voice filtered its way into Jun's mind.

"Somewhere there has to be the other half of me

The other half of me I've yet to meet

One special someone whose heart has a similar leaning

And if she were right for me

Day and night for me would have meaning

The other half of me

That unknown quantity

That unseen destiny

Could make me complete

Is there a chart for the heart or a graph?

Will me meet on the street with a laugh?

Will I ever find the other half of me?"

Matt's eyes burned into hers and his voice floated down to her. "You are the other half of me. I can feel it. We've seen each other for three days since I returned and already we're together and it feels like it's been this way forever." He took a deep breath. "I can't imagine that I ever lived without you. How could I have? And all that time I didn't even know that a part of me was missing." He paused for second. The look in his eyes right then was so strange as he stared hard over her shoulder. It was almost as if he was having some raging inner battle even as she glowed from his words. Finally, he turned back to look at her, his gaze filling her with warmth. "I've loved you forever, Jun."

His words stopped her dead, they froze her into rigidity. She felt flooded, engulfed in a tidal wave of emotion that rocketed through her. Could this really be happening? Had Yamato Ishida really said those words to her? All her teenage fantasies seem to have sprung to life because of five little words uttered by the man she's been fantasizing about forever. She felt as if she were floating in a dream. This couldn't possibly be reality. 

She realized suddenly that she'd been staring at him with her mouth slightly open for God knows how long. He was staring down at her, obviously trying to gouge her reaction. What if he thought her silence meant that she didn't feel anything for him? _No! That'd be totally wrong! _But, then, could she really express to him a little of how she felt? Would this dream come crashing down around her head if she revealed her heart?

She could no longer stand it. She had to reveal the truth! Her voice hitching in her throat, she spoke. "Oh Matt. I feel as if I've loved you from the beginning of time and will love 'til the end."

"Will you? Will you be with me forever?" His eyes stared at her with an intensity that was almost tangible and her heart squeezed with the love that she knew had always been there.

"Of course I will. I'll never be able to leave you now, and there's no way I'm going to let you leave me again."

On the other side of the dance floor, Mimi and Jyou were gazing into each other's eyes and swaying with the music. 

"Jyou you've been so romantic these past two days." She sighed. "That _performance_ you gave at the station, the candlelit dinner, the hotel room. "She looked up at him through her lashes and he grinned widely. "And now dancing with our closest friends. If you're not careful I'm going to get used to this kind of treatment."

"Good, because I know that lately I've been distracted and all my attention has been taken up by work and I just want to make that up to you. From now on no matter what I have to deal with, work or otherwise, I'll always have time for you."

"That's why you went so overboard? Jyou I know the stress that you take at work. It's not your fault that you're the most sought after surgeon in Odaiba. I know that you deal with saving people's lives everyday and if I have to eat dinner alone a couple of nights so you can save someone from losing a loved one then I think that's a fair price to pay. Please Jyou, don't add me to all the things you already worry about. No matter when you get home from work, you have to know that I'll be there waiting for you." They smiled into each other's eyes. "Now, how did you come up with that stunt?"

"Uh...well...I had a little help in that department."

"Really? Whose?"

Jyou looked over Mimi's shoulder at Tai who was looking in their direction with a wide grin on his face and wildly wriggling thumbs up while Sora stood behind him with her hand on her silently shaking head.

"Let's just call him anonymous."

Iori walked over to where Tai's thumbs were still wriggling. His spiky brown hair brushed against his open collar as he walked and the light glinted off the silver stud in his ear.

"'Scuse me and all that, Tai, but do you realize you look really stupid like that?" He said in his low, husky voice.

Suddenly a breathy voice came their way. "Hi Iori."

They looked to their right and saw a blond-haired girl who was dancing with a guy smiling at him provocatively. The side of Iori's mouth turned up in a little grin that made the girl look like she was about to swoon. Her murderous looking partner grabbed her hand and started dragging her off the dance floor just as her mouth opened to say something.

Tai looked over at Iori. "Who was that?"

"I dunno. Some girl and her boyfrie-" His words were abruptly cut off as he rocked forward from the force of the pounding on his back. He jumped around and frowned menacingly at his assailant.

"Daaaavis!"

"What?"

"Why the hell'd you hit me?"

"Geez, I was just saying hello, and watch your mouth. I don't want anything fouling the air around here once Yohko comes back to me out of the powder room."

"But you messed up my hair!"

"It was already messy."

"But it was messy the way I liked it."

"Stop jabbering. Nothing could move that hair. You've got enough gel in there to deflate a basketball if it ever got stuck on one of those spikes. And here comes Yohko so shut your trap."

"So. What is she? Girl number two hundred twenty-five of March?"

"This ones different. I think I'm really in love this time."

Tai spoke up, "Isn't that what you said about the last three?"

"Really, Daisuke, you should find a nice girl who you can stay with more than a week." Chastised Sora, coming out from behind Tai, the soft curls around her face framing the frown. "Really. You go through more girls in a day than Iori does in a week."

Iori grinned wider and chuckled, "Yeah, you're a bigger player than me."

"But-"

"At least he's still seventeen, you're twenty-two now. You've got to learn to stop being so indecisive. You should know it's wrong to play with people's affection like-"

"Will all of you shut up!? This girl is different. We've been together for _two_ weeks now and I really am in love this time."

"Daisuke!" They turned and watched as a tall girl with long black hair held up on one side with a shimmering blue hair comb that matched her shimmering blue eyes and the watered silk of her dress ran into Daisuke's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck while he wrapped his about her waist. She tilted up her chin for a kiss and he lowered his lips to hers for a soft hello.

"I missed you."

She giggled, "I've only been gone for five minutes to fix my hair."

"Doesn't matter. Every moment I'm without you I feel adrift."

She sighed and looked up at him dreamily, "Daisuke your so sweet. You always know exactly what to say to make me melt."

They started kissing again until insistent throat clearing cut into their romantic interlude. Daisuke turned his head around to glare murderously at the one who'd interrupted them.

"Aaaaargh, not you!" He cried, staring daggers at the girl standing before him in a dress of muted pastels and lilac hair softly curling down to her waist with sparkling eyes no longer covered by glasses. "I get enough of seeing you at home. You've been bugging me non-stop since you started going out with Izzy." Daisuke went on in a high-pitched voice, not noticing that Izzy was holding hands with Miyako who had just gone deathly still. "I went out with Izzy today! Did you know he was a model? Yes I did. And did you know that he's the president of his own company? Yes I do Miyako. Oooooh! I can't believe that I'm going out with Koushiro Izumi, Bachelor of the Year!"

"Daisuke!"

"Siiiigh, Mrs. Koushiro Izumi. Mrs. Miyako Izumi. Mrs. Miyako Koushiro Izumi."

Miyako let out a little squeaky sound. "Daisuke, I'm going to kill you!"

"Sigh, do you know just how big his pecs are? They're huge! And his abs! Oh oh oh oh! Did you know that the muscles of his back clench and ripple when he walks or moves? Eeee, I'm starting to drool just thinking about it! Izzy Izumi has the body of a Greek god!!!" His voice now retuned to normal and again he didn't seem to notice that Miyako's eyes were glowing with an evil light and that she was frantically searching around for something sharp to mangle him with. "Really, I wish he'd just marry you and get you off my back. I don't know _why_ I agreed to move in with you in the first place. Having a female for a best friend is a major pain in the arse. Besides, there's someone else I'd much rather share an apartment with."

At this point he grinned at Yohko who was staring at him with wide eyes and a mouth hanging slightly open. That's when he let out a yell as he was pitched forward onto his face on the marble floors with Miyako's spiky heel grinding onto his spine.

"You jerk! I can't believe you said all that stuff!" She pointed at the blushing and yet grinning Izzy. "He's standing right there and he could hear everything you were saying. _Everybody_ heard you! I think this is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me!"

"Are we interrupting something?"

Everyone, except for the greatly mangled Daisuke, turned to see Takeru and Hikari come up.

"The weirdest thing just happened." He went on, used to seeing Miyako attacking Daisuke. "I thought I just saw Matt out there dancing with Jun. You would think that after all this time I would be used to his disappearance, but seeing that guy that looked so much like him, even if it was only for a second, it just brought back all the pain that we all went through when we found out he was gone."

All the joy they had all been feeling was suddenly sapped from them as they each remembered how they had to deal with the pain of not only losing one of their best friends but having no idea where and how he had vanished.

"Geez, you'd think if a guy wanted to keep hidden he'd know better than to come to a public restaurant." Came the disgusted voice of Daisuke from the floor.

They all turned to stare at Daisuke's crumpled up form as he continued speaking. "But since you've seen him too maybe he's decided to come out into the open."

They were all too struck by his words to notice the rage growing in Takeru and were all surprised when he lunged for Daisuke on the floor and brought him up by his shirtfront.

"You've known my brother was alive this whole time and you didn't tell me!!!!?"

"Whoa! Hold on there! I've only known since yesterday."

"You've known since _yesterday_!?"

That said, Takeru threw Daisuke down on the floor and stalked off onto the melee of dancing couples to find his brother, quickly followed by Hikari. All of them stared after him in shock, their faces drained of colour by this new revelation. All of them except Daisuke who was heard from the floor, "What is this? Gang-Up-On-Daisuke Day?" and Tai who had his fist clenched and a dark look in his eye.

"He's been alive the entire time?" He said through tightly clenched teeth. He then went after Takeru to look for Matt, Sora, seeing this, ran after him.

"Wait, Tai, you don't have to do this."

"What he did to you wasn't fair, Sora. He should have to pay."

"Maybe he had a good reason for leaving, Tai."

Tai's face softened a little bit. "You at least deserve an explanation. We all do."

They ran around the room searching for Matt but he was gone. They all met at the entrance hall, along with Jyou and Mimi who had finally been informed of what had happened.

Takeru sighed dispiritedly, "How are we supposed to find him now? I find my brother and lose him all over again."

"It always seemed a good idea to me that if you want to find somebody you should check where they live first." Stated Daisuke with a proud smile and a finger pointed in the air while the other arm rested bent against his back.

Takeru mashed his hand into his face and then slowly brought it downwards. "To do that we'd need to know where he lives."

"Yeah, right. So let's go."

Takeru's fingers twisted and he jerked spasmodically, he let out some sharp squeaky sounds. "You know where he lives?"

"Yeah, c'mon it shouldn't take us long to get there."

Takeru let out a sigh and had to be led out the door by Hikari as he slowly deflated.

There we go--that's all I wrote before the inspiration fairy decided to look for another home. Gee, I wonder if she'll be back....all signs point to no. But then, with me you never know! Right now you're guess is as good as mine as to what's going to happen next.


End file.
